The present invention relates generally to displays for housing articles. More specifically, the present invention relates to vertically stackable multi-tiered displays for housing and displaying articles for purchase.
It is of course known for merchants and others to display articles in containers that allow the prospective purchaser to view and access the article. A number and variety of such displays are known. Typically, the containers will have a body defining an interior for housing the articles and an opening providing access to the interior and thereby the housed article.
Due to space constraints and other concerns, it is also known to provide multi-tiered displays. The advantage of a multi-tiered display is that it provides a number of separate containers that can be used to house different articles. Additionally, a multi-tiered structure allows the display to be oriented in a vertical direction. This can be especially important in those situations where space is at a premium.
Multi-tiered displays can be used for a variety of consumer articles and products. By way of example only, one area in which multi-tiered displays are used is for gum, candy, and like products. An example of such a multi-tiered display that has been used, is a multi-tiered display distributed by the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, Chicago, Illinois. This multi-tiered display includes a plurality of stackable canisters having substantially similar construction. The canisters are constructed from a translucent plastic allowing the articles housed therein to be viewed through the canisters.
Each canister of the display includes a front face having an opening therein. The bottom and top surfaces of each canister are constructed so as to allow the canisters to be stacked, creating a multi-tiered vertical structure. To this end, the top surface of each canister includes a single projecting member. The projecting member has a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape, although it is slightly tapered toward a bottom surface thereof. The bottom surface of each canister includes a single slot defining a space having a cross-sectional shape that is substantially similar to the cross-sectional shape of the projecting member located on the top surface. The projecting member is snapped into, or slid into, the slot allowing the canisters to be stacked creating a multi-tiered vertical structure.
Although usable multi-tiered vertical displays are known, there may be, in certain instances, disadvantages with known structures. For example, it is desirable that the individual canisters house as much product as possible. However, due to the structure of some known multi-tiered displays, it is not possible to merely increase the interior space of the canister because if too much product is housed in the lower canisters, the canisters will separate when one tries to move the display by grasping only the top canister.
There is therefore a need for an improved multi-tiered display.